Gastrointestinal tract symptoms and self-reported abuse: a population-based study

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A link between abuse and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has been reported in outpatients but remains controversial. No population-based studies have investigated this issue. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of abuse and its association with symptoms in a representative community sample. METHODS: An age- and sex-stratified random sample of residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota ranging in age from 30 to 49 years was mailed a valid self-report symptom questionnaire. Abuse was assessed by standard published criteria. RESULTS: Of the 919 responders (74%), the age-adjusted prevalence of any abuse was 41% in women and 11% in men, resulting in an age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of 26%. Symptoms of IBS, dyspepsia, and frequent heartburn were reported by 14%, 23%, and 12%, respectively. There was a significant association between IBS and sexual abuse, emotional or verbal abuse, and abuse in childhood and adulthood. Similarly, dyspepsia and heartburn were both significantly associated with abuse. In the population, 31% had visited a physician for gastrointestinal symptoms; the odds of visiting a physician were highest in those reporting abuse in adulthood and childhood. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported abuse is common in middle-aged subjects; those who report abuse are more likely to have symptoms consistent with IBS, dyspepsia, or heartburn and to visit a physician for bowel symptoms.     

Thermodynamic evaluation of phase equilibria in the CaCl2-MgCl2-CaF2-MgF2 system

The phase diagram of the CaCl₂-CaF₂-MgCl₂-MgF₂ reciprocal ternary system was calculated thermodynamically from available data on the common-ion binary subsystems and from available data on the CaCl₂-MgF₂ join. This join is very nearly quasibinary and divides the system into two quasiternary systems: the CaCl₂-MgF₂-CaF₂ system with a ternary eutectic calculated at 724 +-5 °C and the CaC₂-MgF₂-MgCl₂ system with a ternary eutectic calculated at 561 +-5 °C.     

The influence of general identity disturbance on reports of lifetime substance use disorders and related outcomes among sexual minority adults with a history of substance use.

Previous research has shown that sexual minority (i.e., nonheterosexual) individuals report increased problematic substance use involvement, compared with their sexual majority counterparts. We hypothesize that feelings of an unstable sense of self (i.e., identity disturbance) may potentially drive problematic substance use. The purpose of the current study is to examine identity disturbance among sexual minorities as a potential explanatory mechanism of increased sexual minority lifetime rates of substance dependence. Measures of identity disturbance and three indicators of sexual orientation from lifetime female (n = 16,629) and male (n = 13,553) alcohol/illicit drug users in Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) were examined. Findings generally showed that the increased prevalence of alcohol dependence, illicit drug dependence, and combined alcohol/illicit drug dependence as well as a younger age of alcohol use initiation among sexual minority women was associated with elevated levels of identity disturbance. The results were consistent with a mediational role for identity disturbance in explaining the association between sexual minority status and substance dependence and were generally replicated among male sexual minority respondents. The current research suggests that identity disturbance, a predictor of substance use, may contribute to heightened risk for substance dependence among certain subgroups of sexual minority individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social reforms and the future of school practice: Implications for American psychology.

Social reforms in American education are setting the stage for a paradigm shift in our nation's schools. The convergence of education and health care reform and the movement in the human services arena toward service integration models provide an unprecedented opportunity to redefine psychological services related to schools for the next century. Whereas school psychological services historically have been linked to changes in special education legislation, social reforms in education and health care that emphasize educational achievement and whole-child development offer promise for expanding and enhancing the roles of psychologists whose practices relate to schools and children. This article explores the foundations for change and highlights critical areas in which psychological practice in the schools may develop in the 1990s and beyond. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An oil fraction from edible beef tallow as a constituent of whey-soy drink mix

In order to increase its potential as a food ingredient, an oil fraction derived from a commercial edible beef tallow was substituted for soybean oil in a formulation designed to yield a spray-dried free-flowing powder readily reconstitutable with water to yield a nutritious beverage. If desired, the beverage powder could be fortified with a vitamin-mineral premix containing iron. After 6 months of storage at 37 C, no significant difference in flavor score was observed between samples containing the beef tallow oil fraction and control samples containing soybean oil. There was also no significant difference in flavor scores received by samples containing the beef tallow oil fraction fortified with vitamins and minerals and fortified control samples. However, peroxide values were eight times greater in the unfortified control samples. The beef tallow oil fraction warrants further study as a food ingredient in engineered food systems where enhanced oxidative stability is desirable.     

Particle-scale investigation of PAH desorption kinetics and thermodynamics from sediment

Dredged sediment from Milwaukee Harbor showed two primary classes of particles in the <2 mm size range: a lighter-density coal- and wood-derived fraction with 62% of total PAHs and a heavier-density sand, silt, and clay fraction containing the remaining 38% of the PAHs. Room-temperature PAH desorption kinetic studies on separated sediment fractions revealed slow desorption rates for the coal-derived particles and fast desorption rates for the clay/silt particles. The effect of temperature on PAH release was measured by thermal program desorption mass spectrometry to investigate the desorption activation energies for PAHs on the different sediment particles. Three activated diffusion-based models and an activated first-order rate model were used to describe the thermal desorption of PAHs for four molecular weight classes. PAH binding with the coal-derived particles was associated with high activation energies, typically in the range of 115-139 kJ/mol. PAHs bound to the clay/silt material had much lower activation energy, i.e., in the range of 37-41 kJ/ mol for molecular weight 202. Among the desorption models tested, a spherical diffusion model with PAHs located like a rind on the outer 1-3 microm region best described the PAH thermal desorption response for coal-derived particles. This internal PAH distribution pattern on coalderived particles is based on prior direct measurement of PAH locations at the subparticle scale. These studies reveal that heterogeneous particle types in sediment exhibit much different amounts and binding of PAHs. PAHs associated with coal-derived particles aged over several decades in the field appear to be far from reaching an equilibrium sorption state due to the extremely slow diffusivities through the polymer-like coal matrix. These results provide an improved mechanistic perspective for the understanding of PAH mobility and bioavailability in sediments.     

Potentiometric biosensor employing catalytic antibodies as the molecular recognition element

Catalytic antibodies are introduced as an important new class of biomolecules for molecular recognition in biosensors in which the binding sites are continually regenerated by the catalytic reaction of the substrate. Consequently, molecular recognition by catalytic antibodies can yield reversible immunoblosensors. In this example, a prototype potentiometric biosensor is described in which a micro-pH electrode is modified with a catalytic antibody that catalyzes the hydrolysis of phenyl acetate, producing hydrogen ions that can be monitored by the electrode. The reversible response is linear with the log of substrate concentration over a range of 20-500 microM with a detection limit of 5 microM under the conditions of this study. Alternative applications of catalytic antibodies in other biosensor configurations are discussed.     

Pharmacological analysis of cyclooxygenase-1 in inflammation

The enzymes cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-1 and COX-2) catalyze the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin (PG) H2, the precursor of PGs and thromboxane. These lipid mediators play important roles in inflammation and pain and in normal physiological functions. While there are abundant data indicating that the inducible isoform, COX-2, is important in inflammation and pain, the constitutively expressed isoform, COX-1, has also been suggested to play a role in inflammatory processes. To address the latter question pharmacologically, we used a highly selective COX-1 inhibitor, SC-560 (COX-1 IC50 = 0.009 microM; COX-2 IC50 = 6.3 microM). SC-560 inhibited COX-1-derived platelet thromboxane B2, gastric PGE2, and dermal PGE2 production, indicating that it was orally active, but did not inhibit COX-2-derived PGs in the lipopolysaccharide-induced rat air pouch. Therapeutic or prophylactic administration of SC-560 in the rat carrageenan footpad model did not affect acute inflammation or hyperalgesia at doses that markedly inhibited in vivo COX-1 activity. By contrast, celecoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, was anti-inflammatory and analgesic in this model. Paradoxically, both SC-560 and celecoxib reduced paw PGs to equivalent levels. Increased levels of PGs were found in the cerebrospinal fluid after carrageenan injection and were markedly reduced by celecoxib, but were not affected by SC-560. These results suggest that, in addition to the role of peripherally produced PGs, there is a critical, centrally mediated neurological component to inflammatory pain that is mediated at least in part by COX-2.